The Role of Creative Spaces in the Formation of Destination’s Tourist Brand

The aim of the research is to analyze the influence of creative spaces on the destination‘s tourist brand formation. According to the aim of the research the following objectives of the study were formulated: to identify the premises of the creative spaces‘ participation in the destination‘s tourist brand formation; to research the current role of creative spaces in the creation of destination‘s image; to formulate recommendations concerning the rationality of including creative spaces into the destination‘s tourist branding campaign. The paper consists of three chapters. In the first chapter of the thesis theoretical premises of the creative spaces‘ participation in the destination‘s tourist brand formation are researched. Moreover, existing brands of the researched destinations (Saint-Petersburg and Odessa) are analyzed. The second chapter consists of the detailed description of research methodology: explanation of the study sample and rationality of the methods used in the research (content-analysis, in-depth interview, survey of the visitors). In the third chapter the results of the conducted empirical research with brief conclusions are presented. Having conducted this research authors have come up with a conclusion that creative spaces have a significant influence on a destination‘s tourist brand formation but the degree of this influence depends on the willing of these institutions to take part in the branding process. The recommendations on the including creative spaces into the destination‘s tourist branding campaign are presented in the conclusion of the thesis. The paper consists of 129 pages, includes 13 tables, 41 pictures, 6 annexes. Key words: brand, tourist branding, creative tourism, creative space.